Khartoum airport reopens after 4-day closure following military coup

KHARTOUM — Khartoum International Airport has reopened and at least two flights have taken off from the airport, several aviation officials have said.

On Tuesday, the civil aviation authority said flights would resume on Wednesday at 1400 GMT.

The airport was closed from Monday and international flights were suspendedfollowing the ousting of Sudan’s government by the military.

Life came to a halt in the capital Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman across the Nile, with roads blocked either by soldiers or by barricades erected by protesters.

The leader of the takeover, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, dissolved the military-civilian Sovereign Council set up to guide Sudan to democracy following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.

Sudan’s top general said on Tuesday that the country’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was “at my home” a day after his reported detention by soldiers during a widely condemned military coup.

The general said the decision to oust the government of Abdalla Hamdok was taken in order to avoid civil war, accusing political forces of incitement against the armed forces.

Sudan has been on edge since a failed coup plot last month unleashed bitter recriminations between military and civilian groups meant to be sharing power following the 2019 ouster of former leader Omar al-Bashir.

Bashir was toppled and jailed after months of street protests. A political transition agreed after his ouster was meant to lead to elections by the end of 2023.

As tensions built this month, a coalition of rebel groups and political parties aligned themselves with the military. Supporters of the military have been staging a sit-in outside the presidential palace calling on the military to dissolve the civilian government.

Last week, several cabinet ministers took part in big protests in several parts of the Khartoum and other cities against the prospect of military rule.

The military head of the Sovereign Council has previously asserted his commitment to the transition.